Everyone here can agree that Shakira solo is the best there is but since she is collaborating allot we can only hope for the best results. Its not as if people are saying we want more collabs over solo productions.

Black M seriously?? The guy is a homophobic and an idiot who basically sang about how shcool is good for nothing. His music is stucked in the bad autotune music from the 00's. There's plenty of French pop that is not as bad as this or Maitre Gims or Indila or Zaho. Ever heard of Dalida, Zazie, Etienne Daho, Françoise Hardy or Mylene Farmer that's good French pop music. Not Black M. And I don't care his popular or "exotic" because of the "language of love" (that actually made me laugh especially the response). I'm honestly disappointed. Black M is popular among teen audiences (and thanks god not all of them) because of his message of "school is shit". And Excuse me but whoever thinks Maitre Gims makes actual music has shit in their ears. As for French rap. There was very good french rap in the 90s and what we have today is just mere shit. PNL, Black M, all of that is just the worst of rap and pop. This collab is the guillotine to Shakira's career. People never took her seriously here and every time I mention her in this country people laugh at it. She was stucked in the image of the stupid "bomba latina summer singer" and she's gonna rot in that image. She could have been a diva a la Dalida and a pop/rock diva, instead she is going for the cheap summer singer that does cheap songs. I am not saying she can't do great dance songs, and I always defended the fact that she did HDL, Dare, CRTFY, loca etc etc but at some point, all she delivers for singles are those songs and the rest of the album has not much to offer and some rare few gems that no one except us will hear. She has had some great songs lately and none where on any albumn, that's true, la bicicleta, mi verdad, try everything (though this one is a bit cheesy, but in a good way loool). But basically if you look at her singles discography which is for why people know and will remember her, there's only danceable tracks without any interesting lyrics and a shit tons "lelololes" and "lalala" well I thought she didn't want to be that singer. I guess she lied.

It's just really sad that the same person who did songs like "Octavo Dia" is now making a song with Black M. It's insulting and revolting. She made popular again that Francis Cabrel song from the 70s, she could have a French carreer if she wanted to, with the right people. She could make pop/rock in Spanish and English like she used to. Laundry Service was amazing, everybody in Latin America said she sold herself but that album was still pure Shakira. She didn't sold herself she lost herself with time. Interesting how the same person who sang "¿Qué cosa fuera, qué cosa fuera la maza sin cantera?" litterally "what's the point of a hammer without a quarry" and is also a figurative quarry of songs. The author of the song "La maza es un poco la razón de ser artista, de su compromiso, que no se deja seducir por los artificios y superficialidades que suelen acompañar a algunas manifestaciones escénicas. La cantera es de donde se sacan los cantos, la maza es con lo que se golpea. Si no hubiera una cantera de donde sacar un producto ¿para qué serviría la maza?” "The hammer is the reason of being an artist, of his commitment, that doesn't let himself being seduced by the artifices and superficialities that use to accompany scenic arts. The quarry is where you extract the songs. And you use the hammer is your instrument to do it. If we didn't have a quarry to extract songs from then what's the point of the hammer?" Well Shakira has her voice and her talent, but her songs have no soul and no essence lately. It's like she forgot who she is.

Pop artists are never seen as high art, so it's not like Shakira is the first one to have so-so singles here and there. I think that reaction is too strong, but I get it. However, her image doesn't take away from her artistry when it comes down to it, so as long as she gives me good music, whatever.

Interests:I'm currently a Senior at Vanderbilt University, studying Political Science and Communication Studies. I'm hoping to become a lawyer in the future.

United States

Quote: Though my views may be wrong
They may even be perverted
She'll hear me out
And won't easily be converted
To my way of thinking
In fact she'll often disagree
But at the end of it all
She will understand me

Posted 05 October 2016 - 04:23 PM

As an artist, Shakira seems to be going in the opposite direction. Rather than maturing or becoming more ambitious musically, she's looking for quick hits. Tag on a rapper, throw in some "la la la"s or "oh oh oh"s, and hope for success.

"Such a sad day in music and entertainment history. And just the other day I was saying how much I wished I was one of her twins."- disneyreporter

Black M seriously?? The guy is a homophobic and an idiot who basically sang about how shcool is good for nothing. His music is stucked in the bad autotune music from the 00's. There's plenty of French pop that is not as bad as this or Maitre Gims or Indila or Zaho. Ever heard of Dalida, Zazie, Etienne Daho, Françoise Hardy or Mylene Farmer that's good French pop music. Not Black M. And I don't care his popular or "exotic" because of the "language of love" (that actually made me laugh especially the response). I'm honestly disappointed. Black M is popular among teen audiences (and thanks god not all of them) because of his message of "school is shit". And Excuse me but whoever thinks Maitre Gims makes actual music has shit in their ears. As for French rap. There was very good french rap in the 90s and what we have today is just mere shit. PNL, Black M, all of that is just the worst of rap and pop. This collab is the guillotine to Shakira's career. People never took her seriously here and every time I mention her in this country people laugh at it. She was stucked in the image of the stupid "bomba latina summer singer" and she's gonna rot in that image. She could have been a diva a la Dalida and a pop/rock diva, instead she is going for the cheap summer singer that does cheap songs. I am not saying she can't do great dance songs, and I always defended the fact that she did HDL, Dare, CRTFY, loca etc etc but at some point, all she delivers for singles are those songs and the rest of the album has not much to offer and some rare few gems that no one except us will hear. She has had some great songs lately and none where on any albumn, that's true, la bicicleta, mi verdad, try everything (though this one is a bit cheesy, but in a good way loool). But basically if you look at her singles discography which is for why people know and will remember her, there's only danceable tracks without any interesting lyrics and a shit tons "lelololes" and "lalala" well I thought she didn't want to be that singer. I guess she lied.

Quote: "i got my first record deal with Sony music which back then was CBS"

"Shakira has never been much of a lyricist." - Allison Stewart

"The new album is about clubers of our time.It's not about the clubs that exist, but the club that is in me"

Posted 06 October 2016 - 12:09 AM

She lacks passion for what she does. The sparkle is gone, and this is reflected in her music unfortunately.

When i saw Beyonce in Milan i witnessed how passionate and determined she is. She put 100% of her energy in her performance and made sure the audience was entertained, the level of professionalism was incredible . Not even monsoons stop her from going up on that stage.

She reminded me of Shakira circa 2001-2006. She used to be focused, driven and in love with her job. Now she's all over the place, doing random duets, singing songs that don't fit her voice and half assing her performances. I still refuse to believe she peaked so quickly and that's it for her but i'm starting to accept that she won't go back to what she was 10 years ago.

Black M seriously?? The guy is a homophobic and an idiot who basically sang about how shcool is good for nothing. His music is stucked in the bad autotune music from the 00's. There's plenty of French pop that is not as bad as this or Maitre Gims or Indila or Zaho. Ever heard of Dalida, Zazie, Etienne Daho, Françoise Hardy or Mylene Farmer that's good French pop music. Not Black M. And I don't care his popular or "exotic" because of the "language of love" (that actually made me laugh especially the response). I'm honestly disappointed. Black M is popular among teen audiences (and thanks god not all of them) because of his message of "school is shit". And Excuse me but whoever thinks Maitre Gims makes actual music has shit in their ears. As for French rap. There was very good french rap in the 90s and what we have today is just mere shit. PNL, Black M, all of that is just the worst of rap and pop. This collab is the guillotine to Shakira's career. People never took her seriously here and every time I mention her in this country people laugh at it. She was stucked in the image of the stupid "bomba latina summer singer" and she's gonna rot in that image. She could have been a diva a la Dalida and a pop/rock diva, instead she is going for the cheap summer singer that does cheap songs. I am not saying she can't do great dance songs, and I always defended the fact that she did HDL, Dare, CRTFY, loca etc etc but at some point, all she delivers for singles are those songs and the rest of the album has not much to offer and some rare few gems that no one except us will hear. She has had some great songs lately and none where on any albumn, that's true, la bicicleta, mi verdad, try everything (though this one is a bit cheesy, but in a good way loool). But basically if you look at her singles discography which is for why people know and will remember her, there's only danceable tracks without any interesting lyrics and a shit tons "lelololes" and "lalala" well I thought she didn't want to be that singer. I guess she lied.

and you think that's all her doing alone and not her label? Don't you think her label pushes her somewhat somewhere in a certain direction considering singles? Its not 10-20 years ago where the youth actually cared about deep and passionate lyrics. All they want now are cheap lyrics and a nice beat, it's a trend you see all over the place and Shakira follows it (every now and then)

I never said it was her doing only. Of course her label pushes her. But where's the girl who yelled at Freddy DeMann? I can't believe she just let's her label dictate her whole carreer. She is also responsible. As said Lorelei she lacks passion and doesn't have the sparkle anymore. I think she's more focused on her kids and fisher price. I think that's what she always wanted. HDL was a great song but also the beginning of her artistic downfall, don't get me wrong, I love this song, it has colombian sounds and the video is an hommage to our country. It's more the fact that she did that song to save the album, and ever since she hasn't stopped doing songs to be on the charts. While as a Latin pop artist she doesn't even need to commit to the orders of her label. The English speaking pop star does. As for French collaborations, I'm not surprised as she is popular here, though only seen as a summer hit singer. But Black M? BLACK MERDE? SERIOUSLY???? WE HAVE BETTER FRENCH POP THAN THIS.

The quote is from Silvio Rodriguez who wrote it and I never said it was Shakira who wrote it. I just wanted to point out how stupid it is for Shakira to sing a song about being honest as an artist, to put soul into your work when she does the opposite.

Black M seriously?? The guy is a homophobic and an idiot who basically sang about how shcool is good for nothing. His music is stucked in the bad autotune music from the 00's. There's plenty of French pop that is not as bad as this or Maitre Gims or Indila or Zaho. Ever heard of Dalida, Zazie, Etienne Daho, Françoise Hardy or Mylene Farmer that's good French pop music. Not Black M. And I don't care his popular or "exotic" because of the "language of love" (that actually made me laugh especially the response). I'm honestly disappointed. Black M is popular among teen audiences (and thanks god not all of them) because of his message of "school is shit". And Excuse me but whoever thinks Maitre Gims makes actual music has shit in their ears. As for French rap. There was very good french rap in the 90s and what we have today is just mere shit. PNL, Black M, all of that is just the worst of rap and pop. This collab is the guillotine to Shakira's career. People never took her seriously here and every time I mention her in this country people laugh at it. She was stucked in the image of the stupid "bomba latina summer singer" and she's gonna rot in that image. She could have been a diva a la Dalida and a pop/rock diva, instead she is going for the cheap summer singer that does cheap songs. I am not saying she can't do great dance songs, and I always defended the fact that she did HDL, Dare, CRTFY, loca etc etc but at some point, all she delivers for singles are those songs and the rest of the album has not much to offer and some rare few gems that no one except us will hear. She has had some great songs lately and none where on any albumn, that's true, la bicicleta, mi verdad, try everything (though this one is a bit cheesy, but in a good way loool). But basically if you look at her singles discography which is for why people know and will remember her, there's only danceable tracks without any interesting lyrics and a shit tons "lelololes" and "lalala" well I thought she didn't want to be that singer. I guess she lied.

It's just really sad that the same person who did songs like "Octavo Dia" is now making a song with Black M. It's insulting and revolting. She made popular again that Francis Cabrel song from the 70s, she could have a French carreer if she wanted to, with the right people. She could make pop/rock in Spanish and English like she used to. Laundry Service was amazing, everybody in Latin America said she sold herself but that album was still pure Shakira. She didn't sold herself she lost herself with time. Interesting how the same person who sang "¿Qué cosa fuera, qué cosa fuera la maza sin cantera?" litterally "what's the point of a hammer without a quarry" and is also a figurative quarry of songs. The author of the song "La maza es un poco la razón de ser artista, de su compromiso, que no se deja seducir por los artificios y superficialidades que suelen acompañar a algunas manifestaciones escénicas. La cantera es de donde se sacan los cantos, la maza es con lo que se golpea. Si no hubiera una cantera de donde sacar un producto ¿para qué serviría la maza?” "The hammer is the reason of being an artist, of his commitment, that doesn't let himself being seduced by the artifices and superficialities that use to accompany scenic arts. The quarry is where you extract the songs. And you use the hammer is your instrument to do it. If we didn't have a quarry to extract songs from then what's the point of the hammer?" Well Shakira has her voice and her talent, but her songs have no soul and no essence lately. It's like she forgot who she is.

(Sorry for the double post, some kind of bug editing)

PREACH!!!

I would NEVER complain if it was Amine for example or Indila... i feel like she would fit with these two SO WELL. They are real artists and have some great music. But these disastrous collaborations with some bad boy wannabes... it makes me sick.

Even though i'd love a collab with Indila (most out of any french singer) I wonder if they're voices would match, Indila's voice seems to fragile and delicate compaired to Shakira's raw and power voice.

As for the comments above, I also agree she has lost that spark, i've been listening to TOTM allot lately and you really hear it's a different Shakira, but aren't we all different from the person we were 10 years ago as well? I want to blame her but somehow also cant in a way...

People change of course, but you can't put everything on the back of "people change". Just because we change doesn't mean it's a positive change. Your fanatism also blinds you, and I don't blame you. At least you see she lost the sparkle. I don't expect another DELL from Shakira, it's been 18 years, 15 since LS, and 11 years since the Fixations, I don't think anyone here expects another DELL, except if you're delude.

For now we'll have to endure Shakmerde and whatever irrelevant stuff she'll do to remain part of the pop music game. I think all I want is just an album in which she does write, all the songs, puts some heart, and doesn't try too hard to follow the trends. But I think that's already a lot to ask.

Shak always sucked at following trends tbh like when she did She Wolf and it sounded 2007 but somehow that wasn't just what people where listening anymore. As for Lady Gaga well her last songs aren't really "adult contemporary" they're more in a 70s pop/rock vibe. But anyway coming back to Shakira, Dare sounded so dated in Shakira. She just is too bad at this game. She's way better when she does her thing.

The problem is that Shakira is an aging pop star in a very competitive industry. I think at this point of her life she could afford to pull a Beyoncé and just do her thing without giving much thought to the charts, but sadly she doesn't seem invested enough to flip them off and do what she wants. I have some kind of hope for the new album despite Maluma, but we'll see.

People change of course, but you can't put everything on the back of "people change". Just because we change doesn't mean it's a positive change. Your fanatism also blinds you, and I don't blame you. At least you see she lost the sparkle. I don't expect another DELL from Shakira, it's been 18 years, 15 since LS, and 11 years since the Fixations, I don't think anyone here expects another DELL, except if you're delude.

For now we'll have to endure Shakmerde and whatever irrelevant stuff she'll do to remain part of the pop music game. I think all I want is just an album in which she does write, all the songs, puts some heart, and doesn't try too hard to follow the trends. But I think that's already a lot to ask.

Well, i'm not really putting it on the back of "people" change, but it's more for an explanation of why we shouldn't hope for another DELL/LS/FO/OF, as you said as well. We all became a fan of Shakira (most of us) between DELL-FO/OF. Sometimes that Shakira is in there every now and then in songs like Devocion, Antes de las seis, Mon Amour, La Bicicleta and some more, it's what also kept us hoping for another one of those albums but at the same time. I also love her experiments, I love her voice, it's like a drug. I don't love everything she does (still can't get over the excistance of Gypsy for example) but i'm really fond and attracted to her voice, hence why I'm still a fan after all these years.

Quote: "i got my first record deal with Sony music which back then was CBS"

"Shakira has never been much of a lyricist." - Allison Stewart

"The new album is about clubers of our time.It's not about the clubs that exist, but the club that is in me"

Posted 06 October 2016 - 09:33 AM

The problem is that Shakira is an aging pop star in a very competitive industry. I think at this point of her life she could afford to pull a Beyoncé and just do her thing without giving much thought to the charts, but sadly she doesn't seem invested enough to flip them off and do what she wants. I have some kind of hope for the new album despite Maluma, but we'll see.

Nah, she needs to have complete control of her career to do that. She'll have to become the CEO of her brand.

Beyonce firing her father was the best thing she did for her career even though he stole money from her, it helped her to become a boss and establish herself as a touring and album artist.

Shakira can't afford that, because she isn't impactful enough and her image needs to be rectified. She won't be able to sell out shows around the world without hits, not until she sells herself as the best damn thing out there and broadens her audience. It's all about marketing and smart decisions. She has the talent but this takes a lot more and she'll also have to sacrifice too much so i doubt it will ever happen.

Quote: "... And like everyone else on the internet he's angry and his opinions are meaningless..."
-Daniel Tosh.

Posted 06 October 2016 - 09:43 AM

Nah, she needs to have complete control of her career to do that. She'll have to become the CEO of her brand.
Beyonce firing her father was the best thing she did for her career even though he stole money from her, it helped her to become a boss and establish herself as a touring and album artist.
Shakira can't afford that, because she isn't impactful enough and her image needs to be rectified. She won't be able to sell out shows around the world without hits, not until she sells herself as the best damn thing out there and broadens her audience. It's all about marketing and smart decisions. She has the talent but this takes a lot more and she'll also have to sacrifice too much so i doubt it will ever happen.

Nah, she needs to have complete control of her career to do that. She'll have to become the CEO of her brand.

Beyonce firing her father was the best thing she did for her career even though he stole money from her, it helped her to become a boss and establish herself as a touring and album artist.

Shakira can't afford that, because she isn't impactful enough and her image needs to be rectified. She won't be able to sell out shows around the world without hits, not until she sells herself as the best damn thing out there and broadens her audience. It's all about marketing and smart decisions. She has the talent but this takes a lot more and she'll also have to sacrifice too much so i doubt it will ever happen.

Shakira IS impactful enough. Yes, she won't be able to sell out shows without a big profile, but she's known enough as a performer to pull off a successful tour with only moderate hits / good media visibility. Perhaps it won't be as big as "Sale El Sol Tour" but she can sell out a few arenas in each country, i believe.

The problem is that Shakira is an aging pop star in a very competitive industry. I think at this point of her life she could afford to pull a Beyoncé and just do her thing without giving much thought to the charts, but sadly she doesn't seem invested enough to flip them off and do what she wants. I have some kind of hope for the new album despite Maluma, but we'll see.

Shakira loves collaborating and she loves to be successful. I see nothing wrong with that, she seems happy with the music she does. "Hips Don't Lie" is her most "sell-out" single to date and you can clearly see in her performances that she LOVES that track. The only singles she has released that i feel she doesn't care about at all are CRTFY and maybe Rabiosa.

She has had some great songs lately and none where on any albumn, that's true, la bicicleta, mi verdad, try everything (though this one is a bit cheesy, but in a good way loool). But basically if you look at her singles discography which is for why people know and will remember her, there's only danceable tracks without any interesting lyrics and a shit tons "lelololes" and "lalala" well I thought she didn't want to be that singer. I guess she lied.

Good to know you find her recent collabs to be great, on a thread in which you complain about another collab we didn't even hear yet.

And if we look at her singles discography like you say, we'll see that:

-Besides "Whenever, Wherever" (which actually has good lyrics besides the little hook you decided to focus on) and "Te Aviso, Te Anuncio" there are "Underneath Your Clothes", "Que Me Quedes Tu", "The One" and "Poem To A Horse".

-Besides "La Tortura" and "Las De La Intuicion" there is "No" and "Dia De Enero".

-Besides "Hips Don't Lie" there are "Don't Bother" and "Illegal".

-Besides "She Wolf", "Did It Again" and "Give It Up To Me" there is "Gypsy".

-Besides "Loca", "Rabiosa" and "Addicted To You" there are "Sale El Sol", "Antes De Las Seis", "Je L'Aime A Mourir"

-Besides "Can't Remember To Forget You" and "La La La" there is "Empire"

Just because the latter failed to make as much of an impact as the former, doesn't mean they didn't get released or promoted!